Method of and apparatus for operating on tubular articles



Dec.,,, 23, 1930. H. F. GRUMAN METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING 0N TUBULAR ARTICLES Filed March 30, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 23, 1930. H. F. GRUMAN 1,786,298

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ON TUBULAR ARTICLES Filed March 50, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 stitching.

Patented Dec. 23, 1930 HORACE F. GBUMAN, on RICHMOND HEIGH'Ts'M-Issoum, ,ASSIGNOR TO LE IS In- ;vIsrBLE sgnrrcn: MACHINE COMPANY, OF KITTERY, MAINE, A CORPORATION or MAINE METHOIJROF AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ,TUBULAR ARTICLES Application filed March SO, 1925. I Serial no. 19,352.

This invention relates to sewing machines andmore particularlyrto means for perfornm ing certain kinds .o'fspecial sewing operations. More specifically ,the present nvention provides aniethod and apparatus for sewing a band into a hem or casing formed usually at the end of a tubular article of Whenthe operation is nearly completed and the stitchingmechanism has traversed nearly the complete circuitof thetubular' article, guiding" the band must be discontinued so, that the casing may-be completely closed by One of the objects of this invention, there-' fore, is to providea methodwhereby a casingmay be formed on such a tubular article and the band guided thereinto"during'the forming operation but in whichthe guide is removed just before completingthe formation of the casing. I r

Another objectis to provide improved apparatus for forming such acasing and for guiding the band into the casing as it is towe A 1 Another object is to provide such an apparatus constructed that ,theguide may be removed from the casing prior to completing the formationofthe same. 7 v

Furtherobjects will appear from the following description then in connection witl the accompanying drawing in whichi Figure 1 shows an outline front view ofa sewing machine provided with acband inserting inechanism' embodying this inven tion;

-Figureg is an end viewofthe same;

Figure 3' is anenlarged front View of the casing forming an d vband guiding mechia nism, showing insect ion the material being operated upon;

' Figure 4 is'an the casing forming mechanism andthe band guide shown in operating position;

'Fig ure 5-is a sim lar View but showingthe enlarged perspective view of band guide moved so as to disengage the Q I L j Figure 6 1s a view showing a section of the completed work; and

Figure 7 is afperspeetive view showing the casing form-ing mechanism and band guide 1n operatlng positlon ust prior to being re moved for completing the formation of the anism. Thesupport 4: may contain the shuttle and allied parts of any suitable type of stitching mechanism adapted .to cooperate with the needles 3, for stitching the work. A

presser .foot 5 of any. suitable construction may be provided. All of these parts may be.

of any suitable construction well known in the artandneed notytherefore, be illustrated or described in further detail.

Mounte .0 t o y 1 i f p Q ppo s 6 and 7 in which a horizontally movable rod 8 is slidably mounted. This rodhas adjustablyfixed thereon a pivot block 9 to which is pivoteda linklO connected at its other end with one arm of a bell crank 11 pivoted at 12 l 011 the body 1 and the other arm of which has connected thereto a. chain 13 or other suitable "connection leading to a suitable'manipulative element such as a foot pedal, not shown.

rispringl lconnects the block 9 with the body 1 so as $9 maintain ther'cd 8 in retracted posi-' tion. as shown in Figure 1 Thisjco nstruction provides that the operator, by pressing downwardly on the foot pedalso' asto pullthe' chain 13, may move the rod Stothefleft, Figurehl. 'An adjustable collar 15 on the rod 8 may beset tolimit suchmovement while an adjustable screw 16 on thebody 1 provides an abutment or stop for limitingthe movement of the rocl 8 to the right, Figure 1. v 1

' Theirod 8has attached thereto by'means of off-setmembers ll and 18a parallelguide'rod 19 arranged to slide in the support 7 and adapted to steady the rod 8 and prevent its twisting in its bearings. Attached at the end of the rod 8 is a downwardly extending post 20 which may be integral with the member 18. Mounted at the lower end of the post 20 adj acent the support 4 is a guide block 21 having mounted thereon a curved guide-plate 22 adapted for cooperation with a similar but oppositely faced guide-plate 23 adjustably mounted on the support 4. The plate 23 is provided with a slot 24 cooperating with a clamping screw 25 by means of which the guide may be set in any adjusted position upon the support 4. The mutually facing concave surfaces of the guides 22 and 23 serve to guide the material 26 so as to form a loop or casing as shown in Figure 3.

The block 21 also has mounted thereon a forwardly extending arm 27 carrying a guide block 28. The block 28 is provided with a pair of inwardly extending horns 29 adapted to confine the edges of the band. Extending rearwardly from the horns 29 is a shallow channel member 30'extending toward and partly into the space between the guides 22 and 23 as illustrated in Figure 4. This channel member 30 terminates in a beveled rear edge 31. Adjustably mounted on the guide block 28 by means of a clamping screw 32 engaging the slot 33 therein is a gauge 34. This gauge is adjustable on the guide block by moving the same to the right, Figures 4 and 5, and serves to determine the extent or width of the loop formed in the material in forming the casing, the guide 23 being adjusted accordingly.

The operation of this device is as follows:

The band which is to be inserted in the tubular article, and which in some cases may be endless, is passed over the support 4 and laid into the guide block 28 and channel 30, its edges being inserted under the horns 29. The tubular article is then passed over the support 4 and under the guide block 28 and inserted under the band. The end of the tubular article is then passed upwardly between the gauge 34 and the guide 23, back over the channel member 30 and the band herein, downwardly between said member 30 and the guide 22 and back into the slot 35 formed in the guide block 28. The method of inserting the band 36 and the tubular member 26 is illustrated in Figure 3. The material is thus formed at its end into a loop surrounding the band. This loop is then properly adjusted under the needles 3 and confined by the presser foot- 5. The article is now in position for stitching the casing. If the band 36 is an endless elastic one the operator stretches it so that the material 26 will lie fiat without gathers. He then starts the sewing machine so as to stitch the casing. As this operation continues the operator allows the material to be fed through the machine by the feeding mechanism, keeping the elastic band stretched and the material flat. As the operation goes on the guides 23 and 22 fold the material over the band 36 which at the same time feeds through the guide formed by the block 28 and the channel 30. This guide is so placed as to feed the band between the two lines of stitchin In cases where only one line of stitch is employed the band is fed between said line and the end of the casing. This operation produces a casing with the band included. As the tubular article moves around the support 4 during the stitching operation the point of commencement of the stitches approaches the stitching mechanism. \Vhen the operation is nearly completed the machine is stopped and the casing opened as illustrated in Figure 7. At the same time the band 36 is disengaged from one of the horns 29 as shown in this figure. The operator now presses down upon the foot pedal so as to rock the bell crank 11, thereby moving the rod 8 to the left and carrying the post 20 with the guide 22 and the guide block 28 to the left Figure 1. As will be seen from Figure 7 this movement is permitted as the casing is still open at that side. The post 20 and its attached guide members then take the position illustrated in Figure 5 at a distance from the stitching mechanism. The operator now closes the casing and while keeping his foot on the foot pedal starts the sewing machine and com pletes the formation of the casing. -When this operation is completed the article may be disengaged from the guide 23 and removed by passing it under the block 28. A section of the completed article, in the case where an elastic band has been inserted, is illustrated in Figure 6.

It will be seen, therefore, that in accordance with this invention a method and apparatus are provided by which a band may be inserted in a suitable casing at the end of a tubular article. This operation is carried out 111 a simple and convenient manner. The band is guided into the casing during the formation of the same and between the lines of stitching. The arrangement is such that the guide may be quickly disengaged and moved out of the casing. It will be seen that this device enables the operator to perform such a banding operation in greatly reduced time so that the production of a stitching machine is correspondingly increased. It has been found in practice that an increase in production of 50% over previous methods is easily attainable. The ad- ]ustable gauge 34 provides for adjustin the extent of the casing beyond the outer liiie of stitching so that a ruffle or similar finish of any desired width may be formed at the end of the article.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of this invention; a it is to be understood, therefore, that this details shown and described.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed is:

invention is not to be limited to the specific In a machine of the character described,

means for folding the materialto form a casing, means for stitching the formed'casing, a band guide, constructed and arranged so that said guide may be positioned to guide a band into the casing or be moved clear of the casing, and means for'adjusting the size of the casing.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature this 19th day of February, 1925.

HORACE .F. GRUMAN. 

